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akshaynhegde writes "Germany's Orkin Design has proposed this fantastic concept of a futuristic laptop. The rolltop is a 'rolled up' laptop. By using the flexible OLED and touchscreen technologies, the created concept is a cylindrical laptop which can be rolled out when it needs to be used and can be rolled up again when not used." Something tells me it will be a little while before you will be unrolling your laptop on a plane.

I'm not even sure, aside from a "look at what cool stuff we can do now" promo, why you would want a roll up laptop. Is it easier to carry a fat tube than a thin rectangle? Possibly. Is it going to be just one more hassle rolling and unrolling the damn thing every time you want to use it/carry it around? Definitely.

Anybody who has ever flown with a laptop (which will fit into any backpack) knows the practicality of that situation - but anybody who has ever tried to fly with any kind of tube, knows how next-to-impossible that is. The overhead bins are made for rectangular items, so is the space underneath the seat in front of you. And where do you put it after you unroll it?

What possible advantage is there to something bulky that cannot be stacked; when we've already figured out how to make it ra

I don't think we will see rollup laptops, but rather just rollup monitors and keyboards. By the time these come out, your computer will be in your pocket, you will just want a larger screen and keyboard to do your real work.

You can get rollup keyboards today and the keys are not flat. However, they're rubber and they compress when you roll the thing up. They are not as nice as rigid full size keyboards, but I find them nicer than rigid smaller keyboards. In this case (and only in this case:-), size matters more than rigidity.

And even if it was, do you know how god damn annoying it is to read a paper after it's been rolled up?

Look, laptops do it right. The hinge? That's a crease, a fold line, and allows this thing that otherwise should not be bent to use space more efficiently. A cylinder is will have that big empty volume in the middle. Well, it will until the slightest bit of pressure to the sides squeezes it flat.

There's a reason we upgraded from scrolls to books. Rolled up things are an inefficient use of space.

Could it be that we went to books because of the invention of the printing press, which was not able to print continuously on a long scroll (contrary to the more modern printers, starting with the matrix printer)?In the fluids / beverage industry, cylindrical containers are very common. Volumes range from a few milliliters to thousands of tons. Nobody ever complained about the volume taken up by the space between the bottles or tanks.In fact, cylindrical containers tend to be very strong, and that's a major

I think there are some pretty clear advantages to bounded books over scrolls especially considering they started hand-writing them long before the printing press. For example, have you ever tried reading your scroll with one hand and a drink in the other while lounging by the pool? And God help you if you drop it, that's when everything REALLY starts to unravel.

If you want to find a good example of why this matters, look at early Christianity writings vs. Judaism writings on the same subject. Codexes were invented about the same time as Christianity was founded. The Torah is always read linearly on a scroll. The sense of time, relationships to the texts, etc. are very different.

Could it be that we went to books because of the invention of the printing press, which was not able to print continuously on a long scroll (contrary to the more modern printers, starting with the matrix printer)?

No. The change from scroll to book happened centuries before the invention of the printing press.

Could it be that we went to books because of the invention of the printing press, which was not able to print continuously on a long scroll (contrary to the more modern printers, starting with the matrix printer)?

No. The change from scroll to book happened centuries before the invention of the printing press.

I blame union sheep, for their refusing to produce infinitely long hides.

Could it be that we went to books because of the invention of the printing press, which was not able to print continuously on a long scroll (contrary to the more modern printers, starting with the matrix printer)?

Rotary press 1843 vs offset press 1903 vs Dot matrix printer 1964

Pretty much everything printed on a modern press for about a century before the dot matrix printer was invented was printed on "scrolls". Newspapers etc are not printed on precut sheets. Other than modern desktop laser printers, pretty much everything for the last century has been printed on "scrolls" that are later chopped into pages. I am not counting artsy craftsy stuff like silk screening tee shirts here, rather the million times larger

Just because it's not what you're used to doesn't mean it's a bad idea:-)

Am I the only one that's sick and tired of seeing this nonsense argument? At what point did he say "It's a bad idea because it's not what I'm used to"? Your reply is completely irrelevant. I could just as easily say "Just because it's not what you're used to doesn't mean it's a good idea."

Not necessarily. Next time you pack for a trip where luggage space is at a premium, try rolling up your clothing instead of packing it folded flat in your suitcase/seabag. When crammed full, not only will the result produce less wrinkles in the clothing (if care is taken with the rolling), but it is easier to go through the entire contents of the luggage container to find a specific item, and then remove it without 'upsetting' other items. Just sayin'...

Next time you pack for a trip where luggage space is at a premium, try rolling up your clothing instead of packing it folded flat in your suitcase/seabag.

During my trip through US Army basic training, I was told to do this. During our first excursion prep, I ignored it initially, then realized that I couldn't pack everything in my rucksack. On a second attempt, placing more emphasis on rolling my clothes, I managed to fit it all in. Ever since I that time, I roll my clothes unless there's ample space in my luggage (sometimes this has resulted in me traveling with a smaller bag).

However, back to the point, I'm not sure that you could actually gain space rol

Lets be fair now. I am all for pointing out Apples many shortcomings, but saying that the stuff they make is useless is a bit unfair. I may prefer my Android phone over the iPhone that work provided, but if Android didn't exist, I would heavily use the iPhone. Just because there are better options that are less expensive doesn't mean that Apple products are useless.

Just to add to your point, if you look at iPhone commercials, they all basically follow the same theme: "You can do this, this, and that." I think the 'useless' bit may have been inspired by the original iMac ads which were basically "we have color cases!" Heh.

I do remember a sci-fi show (don't remember which one) in which the portable computers were held in one hand by a handle on the bottom and the top part could be any real shape, but it had a screen that could be rolled out of the side of the device while the device itself had the buttons for using it.

Agreed rolling certainly has advantages for packing certain types of object. With clothes the advantage is it makes it much easier to pack them tightly because the clothes friction with themselves contains most of the compressive force you have applied whereas with a flat fold you have to apply the force to the package as a whole (which you can do but you risk damaging other more delicate items in the suitcase when you sit on it).

With a screen the poential advantage would be that by reducing the surface are

Look, laptops do it right. The hinge? That's a crease, a fold line, and allows this thing that otherwise should not be bent to use space more efficiently. A cylinder is will have that big empty volume in the middle.

According to TFA, the hole in the middle contains USB ports, power connectors, speakers, webcam - basically all the PC except the keyboard/screen.

Might want to RTFA. Or at least W(Watch)TFV(Video). The concept rolls around a detachable core, which houses the power supply / external speakers. It's a neat idea, though I have my doubts about usability/durability in the real-world.

Perhaps the "center" of the tube is the large battery/handle/CPU section, and the screen and keyboard wrap around it? Imagine your whole laptop folded up into the size of a long maglite flashlight. Maybe there's an integrated LED light on the end for times you're not computing.

I fail to understand the entire roll-up computation field. What's the appeal? Why would I want to carry around a cylinder of material that is easy to crush (and therefore crease, likely destroying in the process) when the same item can be made flat, rigid, and slide easily into my briefcase along with other flat things that I need to carry around? Floppy items are no fun to type on. Curly things are no fun to read.

Exactly. Instead of roll-up, why not try and come up with a way that allows you to fold a laptop multiple times. If you can make a laptop thin and flexible enough to roll up like a newspaper, why not just try to make one that can fold up to the size of a paperback or small hardcover book? Hell, I'd be happy with a full-size laptop that can fold up to be the size of a closed netbook. Seems like that would be a lot more efficient and economical in terms of storage than rolling one up.

Now if you were willing to put up with some lines, a screen could be made of several 7" displays arranged much like a 2x2 desktop monitor array. But it would be very thick when folded and the keyboard would probably suck more than the usual laptop keyboard.

You need a cheap netbook with an SSD my friend. You can bang that thing as hard as you want without fear of any damage resulting from your manly ways. I sometimes use mine for entertainment while having a shower, and the warm moist atmosphere hasn't caused any problems so far.

Yep I am using a cheap netbook, and it's pretty decent. Ubuntu, 1GB RAM, 32GB SSD, it suits me fine. Having an ION GPU would make it pretty much perfect, since right now even my phone is better at HD video playback, but other than that it can drive my 1920x1080 display at work fine for coding, web browsing, etc.

I fail to understand the entire fire concept! Why would I want to go to the bother of creating fire when I can digest raw meat and berries, scare of animals with a big nasty stick and keep warm by huddling together in a corner?
Can someone explain, please?

I fail to understand the entire roll-up computation field. What's the appeal? Why would I want to carry around a cylinder of material that is easy to crush (and therefore crease, likely destroying in the process) when the same item can be made flat, rigid, and slide easily into my briefcase along with other flat things that I need to carry around? Floppy items are no fun to type on. Curly things are no fun to read.

Can someone explain, please?

You don't carry around the cylinder on its own. The cylinder rolls up into a holder device, similar to the communicators on Earth: Final Conflict [photobucket.com]. The screen unrolls when you want to use it. Marry that with some tubes of electrorheological fluid [wikipedia.org] and you could get a flexible screen that becomes a flat, hard surface when unrolled and current flows through it.

I didn't care for the design shown in the link at all. It didn't provide any advantages over a laptop, yet was trying to replace one. But I have thought of it before, and I do think it would be a good idea in some situations.

First some constraints. I don't think this would work well for a laptop; typing on a surface without tactile feedback sucks compared to a real keyboard. So it is limited to tablet-type applications. It would also need a solid core (like a scroll) or even sheath (like a retractable proje

First some constraints. I don't think this would work well for a laptop; typing on a surface without tactile feedback sucks compared to a real keyboard. So it is limited to tablet-type applications.

I'd say a decent tactile keyboard is very possible. This guy just loves touchscreens. Look at a modern laptop keyboard. The keys are not high, and arranged in rows. You could place hinges in between the rows and have the keyboard roll up with your screen. Since the keys themselves would touch the back of the screen there is no denting in the delicate and flexible screen. But then you couldn't use it the way he did: completely flat with as a drawing screen.

In five years when everybody is unrolling/unfolding an awesome, lightweight 30" display, are you still going to be happy with your 15" laptop?

Will that be a display that actually gives me the pixels to make full use of those 30 inches or will it be a mere 1920x1080 like the better 15 inch laptops?

If it's a mere 1920x1080 then the only use I see for it would be presentations and frankly a projector is probably just as convenient for that as long as you can find a reasonably flat and neutral peice of wall. If it's higher res then I could see it being useful in a mobile office scenario.

One was the movie Mission To Mars. Another was a scifi TV series about a decade ago produced by Majel Roddenberry I think was called Earth Final Conflict. User had pen-like devices they could pull out a computer screen.

[ tablet fanboy mode ] if it's not for you, then don't buy one. there are people out there who just do not need a keyboard! It's all about mobility, man! Think of all the space you can save with such a device, space you can then fill with a bluetooth keyboard, bluetooth mouse, bluetooth usb adapter, and other peripherals and ports that are standard on any basic notebook[/tablet fanboy mode ]

You know, there are people out there who just do not need a keyboard. The keyboard is optimized to construct words in an alphabetic language. Chinese users have struggled since the beginning of computing to figure out a good method to construct words on the keyboard. The most optimal solution now is a combination of some typing shorthand + auto-completion. Chinese is a language best written by hand. For that, a touch interface is actually superior.

from my limited experience with japanese and kanji, I can see where you're coming from, although a good grafic tablet would probably be even better than a touch interface (but I'm no expert, so...). I was obviously speaking about latin alphabet based text of course.

As soon as keyboard designers learn that chiclet keyboard and their decedents make horrible keyboards. My fragile laptop keyboard which merely closes a electrical connection and uses a piece of plastic for feedback is horrible. I demand that large mechanical switches be brought back with their true force feedback and loud noises that can be heard over the din fo the airplane fans cooling my tower.

Which is to say that the first post-switch keyboards were horrible, and not just because we were used to ty

So that's a lot of moveable parts. Technically the screen is flexible but the other side appears hinged. What happens when one of those hinges bust?

One of the selling points is that the rolltop fits in any bag, but if my livelihood depends on a reliable machine that won't physically break in the airport right before I get on the plane, I'll gladly get a specialized bag for it, it's not that big a deal.

It only makes sense to use a rollable anything if you have something else already that rolls up that cannot reasonably be made to take up less space in some other way. For instance in my camping kit I have a big thermarest pad which rolls up so it only makes sense that I should carry around other stuff that rolls up, then it can all go down the center of my pack and end up pretty well-balanced with other stuff packed around it. So I pack clothes into those gigantic zip-lock bags and wrap them around it. Any

Everyone flipping out about not wanting to use a roll-up laptop... which is fine, but I think the idea here is to just showcase one small application for roll-up/out technology.. I can think of many places a roll-out screen would be handy... A roll-out GPS map in a car, a roll-out screen for consuming content on the road, like in an RV. Large roll-out displays for use in aerospace, either on a space station where size and weight are key, to on a passenger plane for larger personal video screens.. Pers

I'm tired of reading about rollup screens. This article is more about a design than an actual device (the video is computer generated). I might just as well be watching Terminator 3 to see how control over fluid metal could look.

I've seen articles and concept designs of folding and rolling of displays for the past 10 years at least. It's time that this stops making news. The next time this should show up is when someone actually builds one.